Umbrella



April 1950 E. H. PARMENTER 2,502,984

UMBRELLA Filed July 16, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 471/ P W ,I 72 I. hl 47 /7 /7 7 HHHHH Na 7 l a; W 1% BY APril 1950 E. H. PARMENTER 7 2,502,984

UMBRELLA Filed July 16, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 4, 1950 UMBRELLA Enid Helen Parmenter, Cape Town, Union of South Africa Application July 16, 1948, Serial No. 38,962 In Great Britain April 18, 1946 I Cl. 13520) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to umbrellas and the object of the invention is to provide an umbrella construction which will give the user additional protection against rain or snow as compared with umbrellas of the type generally used hitherto, and also to provide means for varying at will the degree of such additional protection.

With the type of umbrella in general use at the present time it is frequently found that the degree of protection afiorded is considerably reduced if conditions of wind and rain occur together, the rain in such case being blown underneath the umbrella. Holding the umbrella at an angle to the body of the user results in parts of the users body being completely unprotected whilst the reduction of the field of vision of the user is frequently a source of danger to himself and to others.

According to the invention an umbrella is provided wherein a transparent or partly transparent skirt is attached to the edges of the umbrella cover to form a shroud adapted to enclose the user, means being provided for extending or collapsing said skirt from or on to the umbrella cover and for varying at will the downwardly extending length of said skirt.

Also according to a further feature of the invention the stick of the umbrella is disposed eccentrically in relation to the cover, the ribs being correspondingly varied in length.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show preferred form of construction of an umbrella according to the invention and in which Fig. 1 is a part sectional elevation of an umbrella showing the skirt extended.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the skirt collapsed,

Fig. 3 is an elevation of an umbrella in which the stick is eccentric to the cover; and

Fig. 4 is a side view partly in section of a part of a modified umbrella according to my present invention.

The umbrella is formed with a stick I provided with a handle 2, the ribs 3 being pivoted on a ring 4 adjacent the ferrule 5. Stays 5 are pivoted at one end to the ribs 3 and at the other end to a runner I slidable on the stick I, a spring catch 8 of the known type being provided for securing the runner I with the ribs 3 and stays 6 in the open position. Secured (e. g. by stitching) to the edges of the fabric 9 is a skirt II] which may be wholly or partly of transparent material.

A series of lacing eyelets II is attached to or secured in the skirt II) at points thereon corresponding to the positions of the ribs. Cords I2 are laced through the said eyelets H, one end of the cords being secured to the free edge of the skirt I0 or to an eyelet adjacent said edge. The cords pass through further guides or eyelets I3 secured to the ribs or to the fabric adjacent the ribs, through guides or eyelets l4 provided on or near the ring 4, and the free ends of the cords are secured to a ring I5 slida-ble on the stick I.

In use the ring I5 is moved axially along the stick I towards the handle over the spring catch I511 to collapse the skirt II), the latter folding concertina fashion as a result of the pull on the cords I2. The collapsed skirt may then be folded within the fabric 9 of the umbrella when the umbrella is in the closed position. When the umbrella is opened the ring I5 is moved axially towards the ferrule 5 to allow the skirt I 0 to extend downwards from the edge of the cover 9. Weights I"! may be attached to the skirt to assist the unfolding of the skirt -ID from its creases.

In the form of construction shown in Fig. 3 the stick I is disposed eccentrically in relation to the cover 9, the ribs being correspondingly varied in length as can be seen from the drawing. Where the rain is falling substantially vertically the narrower part of the cover will be to the front of the user, the wider portion affording full protection for the back. If the rain is coming at an angle to the vertical the umbrella is turned so as to present the wider portion of the cover towards the direction from which the rain is coming.

The skirt I0 may be formed entirely of transparent Woven textile or other material, or it may consist of the same material as the fabric 9 provided with a series of inserted panels of transparent material. The skirt or the said transparent panels may conveniently be formed of synthetic plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene or cellulose acetate, either in the form of thin flexible sheets or fabric composed of woven threads of such materials.

Instead of fastening as shown in Figure 2 the free ends of the cords I2 to the ring I5 they may as shown in Figure 4 pass through eyelets I8 provided on the ring IS, the free ends 2| of the cords 20 being taken up and secured to the ring 22. In this way, a considerable length of skirt material can be extended or collapsed with only a small movement of the ring 19.

It is to be understood that the term transparent skirt as used in the claims appended hereto covers both a skirt which is wholly trans- 3 parent and a skirt only part of which is transparent.

I claim:

1. An umbrella. comprising, in combination with the cover and stick thereof, a transparent skirt adapted to form a shroud around the user, securing means uniting said skirt at its upper edge to the periphery of said cover, and operating means for said skirt comprising a series of cords, fixing means attaching the cords at one end at different points around the bottom of the skirt, an operating member slidable on the stick of the umbrella, attachment means connecting the other ends of the said cords to the said operating member, means on said skirt whereby said cord is laced from bottom to top of said skirt, guide means whereby each cord is conducted from the top of said skirt inwardly beneath said cover and down said stick to its attachment to said operating member, a spring catch on said stick for holding said operating member in its position corresponding to the retracted or folded-up condition of said skirt, and weighting means on said skirt whereby it is extended to its depending or unfolded condition automatically on release of said operating member from said spring catch.

2. An umbrella according to claim 1, in which the operating means comprises a series of cords, fixing means attaching the cords at one end at different points around the bottom of the skirt,

a draw member slidable on the stick of the umbrella, attachment means connecting the other ends of the said cords to said stick at or near the top end thereof, means on said skirt whereby said cord is laced from bottom to top of said skirt, guide means whereby each cord is conducted from the top of said skirt inwardly beneath said cover, then down said stick, through said draw member and up said stick to said attachment means, in order to give a greater movement of said skirt for any given movement of said draw member, a spring catch on said stick for holding said draw member in a position corresponding to the retracted or folded-up condition of said skirt, and weighting means on said skirt whereby it is extended to its unfolded condition automatically on release of said draw member from said catch.

ENID HELEN PARMENTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Number Name Date 44,482 Clarke Sept. 27, 1864 101,165 Rodgers Mar. 22, 1870 229,752 Ray July 6, 1880 30 1,072,340 Liljegran Sept. 2, 1913 

